Manchester’s roads are taking a beating today, April 27, 2025, as the city juggles two massive events: the Adidas Manchester Marathon and the St George’s Day Parade. It’s a logistical nightmare for drivers, with swaths of the city center and beyond sealed off, some closures stretching from Saturday morning to nearly midnight Sunday. If you’re planning to navigate this maze, good luck—you’ll need it.
The marathon, one of Europe’s biggest, kicks off at 9:00 a.m. near Old Trafford football stadium, with 36,000 runners pounding 26.2 miles through the city. The route snakes through Oxford Road, Deansgate, Old Trafford, Sale, and Chorlton, with roads either fully shut or partially blocked for hours. Some areas, like the city center’s Oxford Road, won’t reopen until 11:59 p.m. Meanwhile, the St George’s Day Parade, now in its 20th year, starts at noon from Varley Street in Miles Platting. It’s a colorful affair—think 7-foot blue dragons, 300 mopeds, and a Queen Victoria lookalike in a royal carriage. The parade loops through East Manchester, hitting Oldham Road, Piccadilly Gardens, and Great Ancoats Street, wrapping up in about an hour and 45 minutes.
Roads along the parade route are taking a hit too. Varley Street’s closed from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Oldham Road’s southbound lane is off-limits from noon to 2:30 p.m., and sections of Piccadilly, Newton Street, and Great Ancoats Street will be locked down or held up briefly. Parking’s a no-go along these stretches, with suspensions in place to keep the floats moving. The marathon’s closures are even messier, with entire neighborhoods like Chorlton and Sale gridlocked. Buses are diverted, and Transport for Greater Manchester’s screaming one thing: take the tram. Metrolink’s expecting its busiest Sunday ever, with last year’s marathon clocking 175,000 tram trips in a single day. Extra services are running, especially between Piccadilly and Timperley, to handle the crush.
The city council’s been clear: check their website for the full list of closures, because it’s a long one. They’re also warning that nearby open roads will be clogged with displaced traffic. Hospitals like Manchester Royal Infirmary are still accessible via Upper Brook Street, but expect delays. Rail commuters aren’t catching a break either—Salford Central and Salford Crescent stations are shut for upgrades, with replacement buses crawling between Manchester and Bolton.
It’s a chaotic day, but the council says the marathon alone raised £3.5 million for charities last year, and the parade’s a beloved nod to England’s heritage. Still, if you’re driving, plan extra time or just stay home. The streets are a circus, and not the fun kind.